Your work force is so important

A Lancashire business leader has hailed the quality of applications received by one of the county’s top business awards.

Professor Sue Smith – Director of the Centre for SME Development at the University of Central Lancashire, said the entries to the Be Inspired Business Awards, the BIBAs, underlined the talent and diversity which lies in the county’s economy.

The awards closed for applications at the end of last week and all entries are now being eligibility checked by the awards’ organisers to ensure applicants can progress to the first round of interviews.

The University of Central Lancashire is sponsoring the Business Person of the Year category which recognises the achievements of people behind firms.

Professor Sue Smith said: “Behind every great business in Lancashire there is a team of people which make it tick and it is these people who are the true stars we recognise at the BIBAs.

“You need much more than just great leadership or a talented workforce to continue to be a successful business and the applications received for this year’s awards highlight there are plenty of great people out there in Lancashire.

“Now the deadline is closed and the unique judging process which selects the winners is about to begin, we cannot wait to meet the applicants in the Business Person of the Year award category.”

The North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, which organises the annual awards, will begin to bench-mark all eligible applications against a unique scoring matrix.

The matrix has been developed from research of applications submitted to some of the world’s leading awards, including the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise and The Stevie’s, a leading American business award.

It will use the system to decide which applications will go forward to face-to-face interviews starting on May 14.

The first round of interviews take place at the Chamber’s Fylde Coast offices in Blackpool and run until May 25.

Following the judges’ deliberations, the finalists for each of the awards’ 18 categories will be announced on June 5, ahead of its unique second round of judging.

‘The BIBAs On Tour’ sees judging panels hit the road, sponsored by legal firm BLM, from June 18 with interviews ending on July 11.